The Monday Memo (2:00 PM Update)

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...

Couple of things on deck for today.

- The NHL GM Meetings began today in Naples, FL. Scott Burnside of ESPN has the full rundown of all the events, meanwhile Paul Kukla posted a small but more business oriented post just a few minutes ago at KuklasKorner:

"NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke to Scott Laughlin on Hockey This Morning from the GM Meetings in Florida and talked about the agenda for the week. Bill also talked about the Lighthouse project on Long Island, new ownership possibilities in Phoenix, and the trade deadline deals"

Paul also provided this link where you can listen to the above interview between NHL Deputy Commish Bill Daly and Scott Laughlin of Hockey This Morning.

- Speaking of the Lighthouse Project, Newsday attempted to "shine a light" on the project on Saturday by blowing some of the problems out of proportion. From the article in Newsday:

"Fewer cars, more walking. That's the idea.

The reality: The developers will have to overcome a host of challenges before building the complex that would also bring a five-star hotel, restaurants and stores to the Uniondale site."

- In reaction to this, Nick at Let There Be Light(house) once again showed how the project is actually very well planned and will keep the Islanders on Long Island:

"In addition, the SEQR process, which is New York State law, requires that you address what would happen if nothing is done. In this case, no renovated Coliseum = no Islanders in Nassau Coliseum."

The renovation of Nassau Coliseum would be the first major task completed in the project and it would obviously allow the Islanders as a franchise to avoid any sort of movement or (yikes) contraction.

- Any publicity is good publicity, right? Well when Team Canada players from the World Baseball Classic (which started this weekend; USA and Canada both played at the nearby Rogers Centre) asked the Leafs if they could get tickets to Saturday's game, they were told it would be $12,000 for a Luxury Box (Toronto Sun).

"When they said the price was too high, the MLSEL people dropped the number to $7,000. And when the players indicated they would need to purchase an additional 10 tickets for their group, the price leapt to over $10,000, prompting the Team Canada players to say thanks, but no thanks.

"Do you think the Yankees would give us a box if we asked for one?" Burke said. "I don't think so. So why should we?

And if they wanted the tickets, couldn't one of the millionaires have paid for them."

- Finally, a Molson Canadian gem from the lockout season:



Part 2 of the commercial series will come tomorrow. More later.

Update; 2:00 PM EST

- Yesterday's NBC Game of the Week featured the Rangers hosting the Bruins in a 4-3 New York Win. The game reportedly drew a 1.0/3 rating (Puck The Media).

- Last week the NHL Network provided a free preview for certain cable providers across the U.S. I was not able to experience the Network unfortunately, but Puck The Media gives you 8 reasons as to why they are purchasing the Network after the free preview.

More later.

Wednesday Afternoon News and Notes

Relatively slow day after a big one yesterday...

- The NHL Network is providing a free preview for six days starting March 2nd through March 7th (Puck The Media).

"The NHL Network will offer a free preview to more than 34 million subscribers of multiple distributors in the United States, such as DIRECTV, DISH Network®, AT&T U-verse, Verizon, Cox Communications, Grande Communications and TVMAX, beginning Monday, March 2 through Saturday, March 7."

Can you say perfect timing with all-day coverage on Wednesday, March 4th; AKA this seasons Trade Deadline? Damn I wish I was home for that...

- After yesterdays step forward for the Lighthouse Project on Long Island, Tom Suozzi, the Nassau County Executive, wrote Nick at Let There Be Light(house) saying;

"...I would like you to know that I am fully committed to the Lighthouse Project and in keeping the Islanders in Nassau County..."

Always a good sign when the top guns support the cause.

- Finally, another NHL Promo, this one featuring Brad Richards and Vinny Lecavalier playing some NHL video games:



I must say, that is how some of my brothers' and mine NHL games finish up...

More later.

NHL a Top-10 Innovative Company in Sports

According to Fast Company, an industry leader magazine which focuses on business, the NHL is #7 on their list of the most innovative companies in sports (NHL.com article, Fast Company article). Fast Company seemed to be impressed with the NHL's Internet presence:

NHL.com: The challenger brand of sports leagues is becoming quite the creative digital-media company. Free from other leagues' restrictions on video, NHL.com shows exclusive off-the-ice footage as well as every goal scored.

The NHL shares the list with only one other sport, Ultimate Championship Fighting. Good for the league to gain some recognition, considering that hockey's fan base can be a very critical one of its own game.

- There is one more reason why to buy the NHL Network, as it plans to simulcast CBC's Hockey Day in Canada, which is coming up this Saturday, February 21st. For those of you who have never seen Hockey Day in Canada Programming, it's very well done and celebrates the game well. This year's HDIC is occurring in Campbellton, New Brunswick and will feature all six Canadian teams in a triple header back to back to back.

Here's the CBC Promo for this years day:



- No details yet on the Phoenix story, once again. Frustrating. More (maybe) later.

- Update: 4:55 PM EST:

More '09-'10 Ticket Price News. I'm not sure how I missed this last week, but the Kings are freezing their season ticket prices for holders. No word yet on single-game ticket prices.

The Hurricanes are offering a great deal to their current Season Ticket Holders, a three year price freeze (obviously with a couple of twists):

By placing a 30 percent deposit on their 2009-10 season tickets now, fans guarantee that their season ticket price will not change for the next three seasons, locking them at their 2008-09 price through the 2011-12 season. In addition, the team has made adjustments to how fans can pay for their season tickets, allowing them to spread their payments over an 11-month, zero-percent-interest plan, where installments will be paid monthly beginning with their deposits in March and extending into January 2010.

They also announced a pay-as-we-play plan for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Good deals all around.

Late Night Menu

A couple of quick hits tonight:

- NBA Commish David Stern was on TheFan 590 this afternoon discussing the state of the NBA and the Toronto Raptors. Here's a quick summary:

NBA Commissioner David Stern joined the Game Plan to discuss the impact of the economy on the professional basketball league. In contrast to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (who stated that his league is doing well) Stern admitted that although the NBA would do well in financial terms this season, he was more than concerned about next season.

Interesting, considering what is coming out of our commissioners mouth.

- If you are lucky enough to have the NHL Network, Dave Hodge will have NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelley on his new program, "The Hot Stove League" at 7 PM EST. He will most likely cover much of what Bettman covered on CBC's The Hour, which I posted earlier today, but from a players point of view. I'll be looking out for it.

- A programming note: the sixth edition of my series, Playing Below Capacity, will be delayed until Wednesday night or Thursday morning. I am traveling Wednesday during the day and I also have a ridiculously busy Tuesday, sorry!

Have a nice night.

Capping Off the Minor Comeback...

Checking my blogs right after posting, I found this amazing article at the New York Times' Hockey Blog, Slap Shot.

Stu Hackel has posted a fantastic piece centering on the Phoenix Coyotes mess. It is a nice compilation of all the reported news of the past 2 months, along with a look back at financial troubles of past teams in a similar position like the Coyotes. It also digs a little deeper into some of the decisions Coyotes' heads have made over the past decade or so.

How Did the Coyotes Mess Happen? - By Stu Hackel

My favorite part of the article:

“Historically, the Coyotes are a symptom, not the disease,” Brunt writes. “They exist in their current straits because of the N.H.L.’s rose-coloured aspirations to conquer America, aspirations that had been kicked around for decades but really took flight after Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and set off hockey mania in Southern California. The Phoenix franchise shifted from Winnipeg because the league had in theory outgrown that city and the market. The question of solid, grassroots hockey interest was beside the point; the sport packaged properly, the conceit was that the league could sell it to anyone.”

A great way to put it.

Finally, great news about the NHL Network today from Sports Business Journal.

NHL Network is about to announce a distribution deal with AT&T’s U-Verse system, a small agreement that will see the league-owned channel add about 250,000 homes to its distribution platform.

The deal, which pushes the network closer to the 12.2 million-home distribution mark, could be a good omen as the channel tries to double its distribution and complete a relaunch by next fall.

Oh, but there is so much more:

“Our plans call for us to be in 30 million homes by the start of next season,” said NHL COO John Collins.

How to do all this?

Now, league executives will try to increase distribution by convincing cable and satellite providers to move the channel from sports tiers to better distributed digital tiers. To entice the distributors, the network is offering an equity stake in the channel, Collins said.

Yee Haw! Now so I don't get myself into any more quoting trouble, I'll do a quick summary. The Network will be launching Eight (Yes, 8) new shows over the summer, which range from talk shows to replaying classics. It is also adding programs with new deals involving CBC, USA Hockey, and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Sweeeeeet.

Along with this, a new studio that should be ready by mid-September for the Network re-launch. Looks like Puck The Media's message got to them.

I'm officially looking into ordering the NHL Network if this happens.

Have a good night, and I hope I can be around more.